Seven dead, 29 injured in Ebonyi ghastly accident

At least seven persons have died in a ghastly motor accident which occurred along the Enugu-Abakaliki expressway.

Twenty nine other people suffered various degrees of injury.

The accident occurred at Nkalagu junction of the highway.

Twenty-seven males were involved in the auto crash while the rest were females.

The accident, according to a witness, involved two commercial buses with registration numbers – HAL 491 YG and AKL 190 SB – travelling in opposite direction on the ever-busy express road.

The witness said that one of the buses attempted to overtake a smaller vehicle heading towards Abakaliki.

He said, “The bus driver didn’t see an oncoming bus from the opposite direction and this resulted in a fatal head-on collision.

“Cars traveling stopped to rescue the victims as rescue effort saw the injured and the dead evacuated to a nearby hospital.”

The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Ebonyi state, Charlse Aborchi, confirmed the accident.

He said seven male passengers died in the crash.

“Our officers responded instantly on receiving the news of the crash and led the evacuation of the dead and injured.

He noted that the dead and injured were taken to the Annunciation Hospital in Emene, Enugu state.

“I advise motorists to shun reckless driving as it has resulted in the wasteful loss of lives on the roads.

According to him, over speeding makes drivers struggle to apply sudden brake and this results in deaths when the brake application fails.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Chris Anyanwu said the command was yet to receive details of the road mishap.

The accident took place barley two weeks after a similar crash claimed fourteen lives at Afikpo-Okigwe Highway.